Wheel balancing apparatus



March 26, 1940. P. F. HATCH WHEEL BALANCING APPPARATUS Original Filed Marsh 25. 1936 Patented Mar. 26, 1940 WHEEL BALANCING APPAnATUs l Paul F. Hatch, Ypsilanti, Mich., assignor to Harley C. Loney Company, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application 1 Claim.

This invention relatesto apparatus for balancingl vehicle wheels and more particularly to a device for supporting a wheel for free rotation about its axis.

In supporting modern lautomotive vehicle wheels for free rotation so that the heavy point may be determined and balancing weights applied in any of the usual ways it is necessary that some support be provided to hold the wheel for rotation about its axis. The present invention provides such a device which in its preferred form engages the usual attachment bolt holes in the hub plate.

An object of the invention is to provide a wheel support which may readily be secured to the hub portion of a wheel.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a wheel support for supporting a Wheel from its hub plate.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wheel support having a plurality of corradiating ngers, the angle of corradiation of which may be varied to clamp the Wheel thereon.

rl'hese and other objects willbe apparent from the following specication when taken with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the balancing apparatus,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the wheel supporting portion with a wheel in place, and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the wheel supporting portion with a wheel in place.

Referring particularly to the drawing, the reference character I indicates a base in which the balancing device is supported. 'I'he bas'e I is provided with bores 2 through which bolts or screws may be passed for securing it to the wall or the side of a bench. The base I which preferably is a casting has an integral laterally projecting socket- 3 in which is received a cylindrical sleeve 4. A thumb screw 5 secures the sleeve 4 in the socket. Internally of the sleeve 4 are disposed bearings 6 in which is rotatably supported the spindle 1 provided at its outer end with a threaded portion 8 on which is secured a wing nut 9.

Inwardly from the outer end of the spindle 1 are disposed two cones I0 having their convergf ing ends adjacent each other. The cones are for the purpose of having supported thereon a wheel having a generally cylindrical hub, the cones being clamped into each end of the hub by the wing nut 9 bearing against the spacing sleeve II, and the entire assembly at the same time being clamped against the outer bearing 6.

March 25, 193s, serial No. 70,793 Renewed July 9, 1938 For use in cases wherein a wheel to be balanced vdoes not have ya usual elongated hub to which I2 arranged to support a wheel I3 such as is i shown in` Figs. 2 and 3 from the usual holes I5 lfor receiving the projecting securing bolts by which the wheel is secured to the vehicle'.

The adaptor I2 has an annular base I6 having a plurality of pairs of radially extending ears I1. Pivoted between each pair of ears I1 is an arm I8 having a camming abutment I9 and a supporting nger 20. The internal opening of the annular base I6 is slightly larger than the diameter of the spindle 1so that vit may slide thereon, as shown in the drawing. When assembling the adaptor I2 on the balancing device the wing' nut 9, the spacing sleeve II and the outer cone Il) p are removed and the adaptor is slipped on the spindle 1. 'I'he outer cone Ill, the -sleeve II and. the wing nut 9 are then assembled on the spindle in the order named. The device is then ready for receiving the Wheel. The arms I8 are spaced so that the lingers 20 are approximately located to simultaneously be received in the bolt holes I5 of the wheel. The fingers 20 are then man- 'ually inserted in the bolt holes I5 and the wing nut 9 is then screwed up. The later action forces the outer cone I0 inwardly so that it acts against the camming'abutments I8 of the arms I8 to cam all of the fingers 20 outwardly. It should be observed that the fingers 20 are slightly outwardly extending or hook` shaped and therefore positively hold the wheel against removal. It will be understood that the designof the arms I8 and abutments I9 is such that the end of the outer cone does not enter the adaptor suciently to engage the base I8 prior to the ngers 20 being rigidly clamped in the bolt holes of the wheel. Usually the end of the outer cone will be spaced from the base I6 with the adaptor clamped in position within the bolt holes of the wheel. In the case of oversize wheels, a different size adaptor will have to be used, as it should be Y outer cone through the arms I8.

Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate a wheel mounted on the adaptor I2 for balancing. As the spindle 1 is mounted on bearings the wheel I3 in its mounted position is freely rotatable and will accordingly iind a positionI of rest with its heavy side down. The wheel may then be balanced by any known method of attaching balancing weights but preferably is balanced according to the method disclosed in the copending application of James W. Hume, Serial No. 704,203, led December 22,1933.

While the adaptor I2 has been shown with four arms i 8 it may have as many as desired although there would be no advantage in having more than the number of bolt holes I5. Also, in-

stead of, as shown, the fingers 20 may engage the inner edge of the hub opening of the wheel. It is preferred however that the fingers 20 engage the securing bolt holes for the reason that they are more accurately disposed in the Wheel with respect to its rotational axis and accordingly more accurate balancing is obtained. The invention is also capable of other modifications within its scope and I therefore do not wish to be limited except by the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

An adaptor for concentrically supporting a vehicle wheel, through engagement with the bolt holes of the mounting ange, upon a double cone wheel balancing xture or the like having a free-- ly rotating spindle, said adaptor consisting solely of a central collar apertured to receive said spindle, the inner face of said collar functioning as an abutment for engagement with a shoulder upon said spindle, and a plurality of corradiating arms pivotally supported at their inner ends upon said collar, said arms having at their outer ends notched finger portions for engagement with portions of said mounting flange from within said bolt holes, protuberant portions upon the inner sides of said arms betweenlthe ends thereof to form cam abutments for freely engaging along and around the conical surface of the outer cone of the balancing xture, said cam abutments being located and shaped to give clearance between said outercone and all other portions of said arms upon relative axial movement between said outer cone and the adaptor when said adaptor is used for balancing wheels of a predetermined bolt circle diameter range, whereby said arms are caused to move radially outward to concentrically clamp said wheel upon said spindle through the radial expanding action of said nger portions and the bolt holes. PAUL F. HATCH. 

